


You aren't my real parents * re-uploaded *

by bookworm6570



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25546813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookworm6570/pseuds/bookworm6570
Summary: Lydia gets mad doing homework and takes it out on the Maitlands. But she unknowingly mentions something the Maitlands have been trying to forget for years.
Relationships: Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Barbara Maitland
Kudos: 16





	You aren't my real parents * re-uploaded *

"It doesn't make sense" groaned Lydia, banging her head onto the coffee table.

"What doesn't sweetie?" asked Barbara, coming downstairs and making her way over to Lydia "Are you ok? That sounded like it hurt"

"It's this dumb science" groaned Lydia, not lifting her head up. Barbara knelt next to the teenager and looked at the book

"Oh, I don't understand genetics, but Adam does" said Barbara "Want him to help you?" Lydia nodded but didn't lift her head up "Adam?" called Barbara

"What's up honey?" asked Adam, appearing at the top of the stairs

"Can you explain genetics to Lydia?" asked Barbara, gesturing to the 15-year-old who still had her head in her arms

"Of course," said Adam, he came and sat next to Lydia and Barbara went to sit on the couch, picking up a random book. "So, what don't you get?"

"All of it" muttered Lydia

"Want me to start at the start?" asked Adam "Basics first and we'll work our way up?"

"Ok..." said Lydia, lifting her head up. Adam smiled and dragged her textbook over to him. He started talking about something to do with the double helix and how they are genetics "I know that" groaned Lydia "I just can't do it"

"What do you mean?" asked Adam

"For this dumb assignment" said Lydia, gesturing to the word document on her laptop "We have to pick to people and then look at their genes and create a kid for them."

"Oh, and who are you doing?" asked Adam

"Two random celebrities" said Lydia "But I don't get these dumb punnet squares" she banged her head down on the table again and groaned.

"Well... punnet squares are the simplest way of explaining genetic make-up" said Adam. He droned on and on about them until it all got too much for Lydia.

"STOP!" she exclaimed, her head snapping up "Just stop"

"Lydia?" asked Adam

"Stop" repeated Lydia, slamming her laptop shut and gathering her books together "Please stop"

"I don't understand" said Adam

"It's too much" said Lydia, her voice cracking "It doesn't make any fucking sense" she shoved her pencils into her pencil case "None of it does. And why do I need to learn this crap?"

"Language" mumbled Barbara under her breath. Lydia's head sharply turned towards the female ghost

"What'd you say?" she asked

"I said language" said Barbara "Because you do really need to-"

"NO" shouted Lydia, standing up and grabbing all her stuff "NO! YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

"Lydia..." said both the Maitlands.

"NO!" shouted Lydia "YOU DON'T LYDIA ME!" she snatched the textbook from Adam's grasp and flung it into her arms, hitting him in the process "YOU TWO HAVE NO RIGHT TO PARENT ME! NONE AT ALL. THERE IS NO LEGAL DOCUMENT SAYING THAT YOU ARE MY PARENTS AND THERE NEVER WILL BE ONE BECAUSE NEWSFLASH YOU'RE DEAD! SORRY TO BURST YOUR BUBBLES BUT YOU'RE DEAD AND YOU'RE NEVER COMING BACK TO LIFE!"

"Lydia" said Adam, standing up and looking at the teenager with an expression she'd never seen on the male ghost's face before "Do not speak to us that way"

"And what are you gonna do to stop me?" asked Lydia in a mocking voice "YOU GUYS CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP ME! NOTHING AT ALL. BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!" Lydia made her way towards the stairs

"You stop right there young lady"

Barbara's raised voice made Lydia stop in her tracks and turn around slowly. She looked at the female ghost and saw a look of anger and hurt on her face.

"Oh... big brave Barbara come to rescue her husband from mean old Lydia" mocked the teenager

"Lydia Deetz. Do not speak to either of us that way" said Barbara

"And what are you gonna do to stop me?" asked Lydia. There was silence "EXACTLY!" shouted Lydia, a crazy smile on her face "THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO! BECAUSE YOU ARE DEAD! AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO PARENT. NONE AT ALL. YOU DIED BEFORE YOU COULD HAVE CHILDREN, WHICH IN ALL HONESTY, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING"

"Lydia" said Adam quietly but harshly

"LET ME TELL YOU. AS A CHILD OF SOMEONE WHO DIED IT SUCKS! SUCKS BIG TIME. AND YOU TWO WOULD'VE BEEN THE WORST FUCKING PARENTS ON THE PLANET. ALL YOU DO IS HIDE FROM YOUR FEARS AND DON'T TRY ANYTHING NEW. AND NO, I DON'T REGRET SAYING ANY OF THIS BECAUSE ITS ALL TRUE!" Lydia saw the tears in Barbara's eyes "OH DON'T START CRYING ON ME NOW BARBARA, THAT'S NOT VERY BARBARA 2.0 IS IT?" Barbara's head snapped up "OH BEEJ TOLD ME EVERYTHING... ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. AND I'M TOUCHED THAT YOU TWO WANTED TO STAY FOR ME BUT NEWSFLASH... I DON'T NEED YOU! SO, LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE AND GO TO THE NETHERWORLD!" she stormed upstairs, leaving the shocked Maitlands standing there. "YOU GUYS AREN'T MY REAL PARENTS" she screamed at the top of her lungs before slamming her bedroom door loudly making the hall shake

"Barb?" asked Adam, looking at his wife "Are you alright?"

"Leave me alone" said Barbara, she floated upstairs, leaving Adam alone in the silent living room, the screams of Lydia's rage still echoing in his ears. 

Barbara walked into the secret room in the attic and locked the door behind her. This room had always been her sulking place. But after her unfortunate incident a few years back, she'd taken to keeping her special stuff in here, locked away from the world. Carefully, Barbara opened up the box that sat in the corner and looked at the first item in there.

It was a framed picture of a man. Barbara smiled at the photo of her dad and gently stroked the edge of the frame. She was always close with her father, so losing him at the age of 17 had been really tough.

The next thing in the box was a photo of her and Adam with her 3 younger siblings and Adam's older sister. Everyone was laughing and smiling. They all looked so happy... so young.

Putting that aside she picked up a positive pregnancy test. She let out a small sob and quickly put the test underneath the photos. She had no idea why she'd kept it, but she didn't have the heart to throw it out even though she was dead.

The other items in the box included a photo of Barbara with Adam's dad, who had sadly passed away a few years after their wedding. A blanket her grandmother had made her when she was a baby. And finally, a stuffed teddy bear that'd been hers since the day she was born.

The bear was called Choc, despite its white colour, and had a tattered bow tied around its neck. Barbara hugged the bear tightly to her chest and sniffed a little. When she was younger, she'd always played with this bear, pretending it was her baby and taking care of it, knowing one day she would have a real baby she could do that with.

A small sob escaped her lips as she buried her face in the bears familiar fur. She knew Lydia hadn't meant any harm to her and she knew it was all out of anger, but that didn't stop the way her heart ached as she heard the teenagers yells echoing around her head.  
 _"YOU TWO WOULD'VE BEEN THE WORST FUCKING PARENTS ON THE PLANET"  
_ Lydia was right. Well, in Barbara's case anyway. She started crying ghostly tears and they disappeared into the bears old mattered fur.

Still crying, Barbara crawled over to the blankets in the corner and curled herself into a tiny ball, hugging the bear tightly to her chest and muffling the sounds of her cries.

Adam stood in the living room for what seemed like forever, the argument with Lydia replaying in his head. Lydia had said some pretty hurtful stuff to them, but he knew it was out of anger.

He shook himself out of his daze and slowly walked upstairs. He stopped outside Lydia's room and heard the teenager's cries. He was about to knock on the door but stopped when he remembered his wife. Any mention of their past with children hurt her and he knew she needed him more than Lydia did.

He ran up to the attic and looked around, it was empty. He knew where she was. Adam unlocked the door to the secret room and opened it. What he found broke his heart. Barbara was curled up under a blanket, hugging her childhood toy to her chest staring unseeingly at the wall.

"Barb?" asked Adam

"Hey Ad" she said, pulling her gaze away from the wall and looking at her husband

"That's where Choc went" laughed Adam, sitting next to her and looking at the bear "I missed him"

"No, you didn't" said Barbara "Don't lie. Its stupid that a 34-year-old woman should still have a stuffed toy"

"No, it isn't" said Adam. Barbara shrugged and hugged him, sniffling again. Adam wrapped his arms around her tightly and hugged her "You know that Lydia didn't mean, that right?"

"I know" whispered Barbara "But she was right"

"No Barb... honey, please don't think that" said Adam. Barbara sniffed again and a few ghostly tears escaped her eyes and slipped onto Adam. He hugged her tighter and kissed her head, not knowing what to say and instead just rocking her back and forth. 

Lydia felt awful for yelling at Adam and Barbara. As soon as she'd reached her bedroom she'd collapsed on the bed in tears. She knew she shouldn't have said all those things to the Maitlands. They didn't deserve to have her anger taken out on them, but it'd happened. After a solid 10 minutes of crying, Lydia pulled herself together enough so she could walk up to the attic and apologise to the Maitlands, praying her relationship with the ghosts hadn't been ruined.

"Adam? Barbara?" she walked into the attic and found it empty. That was strange, since she knew Barbara had gone up and she'd heard Adam follow. "Hello? Guys?" They've left, she thought. It's all my fault. They've gone to the Netherworld forever.

Slowly she walked over to their bed, which was in the corner of the attic, and collapsed onto it. For once the bed wasn't made, instead it was messy like they'd just stumbled out of it. There was Adam's glasses sitting on the floor by the bed on top of his book. Laying half open on the floor was a book on gardening from where Barbara had probably either thrown it at Adam or just onto the floor because she was tired.

"I'm sorry" said Lydia quietly "I'm sorry for everything I said"

"Lydia?" asked Adams voice. He emerged from the shadows in the far end of the attic, followed by a very sad Barbara. Lydia hopped up from the bed and looked at the Maitlands, tears welling in her eyes when she saw how sad Barbara was.

"I'm sorry" said Lydia "I should've watched what I said... I wasn't thinking. It's getting close to mum's birthday and it's taking a toll on me"

"It's alright Lydia" said Adam, putting an arm around Barbara

"I didn't mean any of it" said Lydia "I promise. In reality, you two would be the best parents on earth, like honestly the best..." she noticed Barbara tearing up again "What'd I say now?" Barbara buried her face in Adam's shoulder and her body shook with sobs. Adam hugged her tightly. Barbara collapsed against him and Adam gently picked her up, carrying her over to the bed. Lydia watched them and felt guilt wash over her. It was her fault that Barbara was like this now. It was her fault that the Maitlands probably hated her now and she'd understand if they did.

"Come here Lyd" said Adam, he had Barbara on his lap, and he was rocking her back and forth. She was still crying, and her face was buried in his chest. Lydia approached the bed and sat as far from them as she could.

"I'm sorry" repeated Lydia, fiddling with the hem of her dress

"It's alright" came a quiet voice. Lydia looked up and saw Barbara lifting her head off Adam's chest, her face tear stained. Lydia looked at Barbara with concern. She'd never seen her ghost mother look this venerable or sad the whole time they'd known each other.

"Barb... I'm so sorry" said Lydia, tears welling in her eyes.

"It's alright Lydia" sniffed Barbara "You just hit a sore spot" Lydia felt her heart drop onto her stomach. Of course, she'd managed to hit a sore spot with the Maitlands, and by the looks of it, it was a bad one.

"I'm so sorry" said Lydia

"It's alright" repeated Barbara. She held her arms out and Lydia shyly crawled into them. Adam held both of the girls tightly, comforting both of them. After a while Barbara took a deep breath and looked at Lydia "The real reason we died without kids is because after I suffered a miscarriage, we didn't want to go through it again"

"Oh Barb..." Lydia hugged her ghost mother tightly and felt her heart drop again. This small insight into the Maitlands made everything a thousand times sadder and she felt so bad for yelling at them. "I'm so so so so so sorry"

"It's alright Lydia" said Barbara with a shaky breath "It's in the past now"

"I feel so bad for yelling though" said Lydia "All those things I said, I didn't mean any of it."

"It's alright Lydia" said Barbara, she looked over at the pottery jugs that were lined up on the wall "Want to smash some stuff?"

"Always" grinned Lydia


End file.
